AI TOOLS IN CHINA
Are AI tools blocked in China?
ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini are hard to reach in mainland China — and not only because of the Great Firewall. OpenAI and Anthropic actively block China IP addresses, so you need a VPN with a clean overseas exit. Here is what works, what is geoblocked, and which China-native AIs run without a VPN.
How long is your trip?
For a short trip, start with Yoho VPN free (1 GB/mo full speed) for maps and chat, and pair an eSIM so you are online the moment you land. 查看價格
For a week or two of daily use, Pro (200 GB/mo, all 30 locations) keeps streaming, AI tools and video calls smooth. Set it up before you fly. 查看價格
For a long stay or work trip, go Pro for full-speed data across all locations, and keep Smart Split on so WeChat, Alipay and maps stay fast and direct. 查看價格
13 of these AI tools are blocked or geoblocked in mainland China.
- ChatGPT (OpenAI) Blocks China IPs AI chat/gen · OpenAI blocks China IPs — needs an overseas exit
- OpenAI API Blocks China IPs Dev/API · OpenAI blocks mainland China + HK
- Claude (Anthropic) Blocks China IPs AI chat/gen · Anthropic blocks China — overseas exit needed
- Google Gemini Blocks China IPs AI chat/gen · not offered in mainland China
- Microsoft Copilot Unreliable AI chat/gen · reachable but often limited
- GitHub Copilot Unreliable Dev/API · works but slow via GitHub
- Perplexity Needs a VPN AI chat/gen
- Poe Needs a VPN AI chat/gen
- Character.AI Needs a VPN AI chat/gen
- Midjourney Needs a VPN AI chat/gen · runs on Discord (also blocked)
- DALL·E Blocks China IPs AI chat/gen · via OpenAI — China blocked
- Stable Diffusion (online) Unreliable AI chat/gen
- Runway Needs a VPN AI chat/gen
- Suno Needs a VPN AI chat/gen
- ElevenLabs Needs a VPN AI chat/gen
- Hugging Face Unreliable Dev/API · site reachable; downloads slow
- Grammarly Unreliable Tools
- Notion AI Unreliable Tools
- Meta AI Needs a VPN AI chat/gen
- ERNIE 文心一言 (Baidu) Works in China China AI
- Doubao 豆包 (ByteDance) Works in China China AI
- Kimi (Moonshot) Works in China China AI
- Qwen 通义千问 (Alibaba) Works in China China AI
- DeepSeek Works in China China AI
- Zhipu 智谱清言 Works in China China AI
- Tencent Yuanbao 元宝 Works in China China AI
Get Yoho VPN before you fly
每月 1 GB · 免信用卡
More China connectivity checks
Access depends on your network, carrier and region and can change day to day. This is guidance, not a guarantee. Hong Kong and Macau are not behind the mainland firewall.